This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 6-261042 filed on Sep. 30, 1994.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism of automatically opening and closing a cover for protecting the objective lens of a monocular or binocular telescope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telescopes adopt various structures for forming an image on the retina, but they are fundamentally divided into a structure for observing an object with a single eye and a structure (binoculars) for observing an object with both eyes. The objective lens of such a telescope is covered with a protective cap so as to protect the lens surface from dust and from being scratched.
In a conventional telescope, however, a protective cap removed when observing an object is inconvenient to handle. Since it is necessary to remove the protective cap and put it into a bag or a pocket when an object is observed, and to take it out of the bag or the pocket and attach it to the lens when the observation is finished, it is often the case that the protective cap is lost. That is, the management of the protective cap is troublesome.
If the protective cap is tied to the main body by a chain or the like in order to facilitate the management, the protective cap becomes a hindrance at the time of observation. In a compact camera or the like, a cover as a protective cap is attached to the front surface of the objective lens on the main body in such a manner as to be slidable rightward and leftward by the operation of a button. However, it is difficult to apply such a mechanism to a cylindrical telescope.